Our Quick and Easy Guide to Anti-Doping in Swimming
Supplements
Introduction
Athletes must be careful with what they put into their bodies, much more so than the average person. Eating whole foods, rich and varied in macro-nutrients, micro-nutrients and colour help to keep the athletes healthy and recover from intense training. However, it is becoming increasingly common for athletes to take supplements such as creatine and whey protein, and even young athletes now believe they need them in order to compete or to keep up with their teammates or opponents. This is certainly not the case. Individual performance differences are attributed to a large number of variables including maturation, physical differences such as force production, power output, height etc, as well as training quality, recovery strategies and coaching quality.
Whey protein is one of the most commonly used supplements.
It’s easy for athletes, a young athlete, in particular, to see opponents and teammates drinking a protein shake after training or competition and assume that they need to be doing the same. In reality, supplements are just that, supplements! They are meant to complement a high-quality lifestyle in which nutrition, sleep, training and hydration are already to an excellent standard, no supplement will help if these basic components aren’t first addressed.
Why Supplements Can Be Dangerous
If the athlete’s lifestyle is to a high standard then supplements can be used to further increase recovery from training, but it should be stated that no supplement is risk-free. Supplements, in particular, can be contaminated with substances that are prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and it doesn’t matter if you take a banned substance on purpose or accidentally it is still in the athlete’s system and the athlete will face the consequences often in the form of a 2-year ban for a first offence.
We need to ensure that if athletes use supplements we maximise safety and minimise any contamination risks. The problem is it’s easy and cheap to get supplements that are not tested for these banned substances, it costs companies a lot of money to get their products tested and most of the common and easily accessible supermarket products are not, and these contain a high risk for contamination.
How to Maximise Athlete Safety
There is an easy way to determine where the supplements you buy are safe for athletic development purposes. Be sure to look for the Informed Sport logo on the packaging of the product before you buy and use it.
Informed Sport logo, old (left) and recently updated logo (right).
In the UK, there is a number Informed Sport certified brands and products that are batch tested for banned substances that including Bulk Powders, My Protein, SIS, USN, Optimum Nutrition and Maxi Muscle among many others. However, not all products by these brands are batch tests and each individual product must be checked before use.
Take-Home Key Points
Maximise athlete lifestyle before supplements are even considered and if supplements can be useful then use Informed Sport batch tested products.
Useful Links:
Informed Sport full certified brand list
World Anti-Doping Agency 2022 prohibited list
Medications
Introduction
Medications are a different entity to supplements, a lot of athletes, as well as the general population, need certain medications to combat illness, infections and other acute and chronic conditions such as Asthma in order to carry out a mostly normal life and in some cases survive. Most of the commonly taken medications, such as Salbutamol inhalers for Asthma, are legal to use within a certain dose. For example inhaled salbutamol: maximum 1600 micrograms over 24 hours in divided doses not to exceed 600 micrograms over 8 hours starting from any dose.
Salbutamol is a commonly used but prohibited drug in large doses.
Other types are legal or illegal depending on the method in which they are administered, for example the glucocorticoid Fluticasone is legal when administered via nasal spray, but illegal when administered orally or intravenously. Some medications are legal in certain sports and not in others, an example here is the use of Beta-Blockers to calm nerves, shaking and anxiety in Archery and Golf. Some substances are also only banned at certain times of the year, for example Beta-Blockers are only banned during races in Formula 1, and during competitions in Skiing but banned all year round in Shooting.
What To Do With New Medications
If an athlete needs a new medication or is currently using medication it is paramount that the athlete, coach or legal representative of the athlete check the legality of the medication. This can be easily done using the Global Drug Reference Online service by simply selecting your country, and what medication you are using to see if you need to take further action to avoid any penalties by the relevant anti-doping organisation. Be sure to save your search number as a reference and evidence that you have completed a search and be sure to check all medications frequently and each time you receive a new prescription as drug manufacturers may change ingredients.
If Your Medication Is Prohibited
Depending on the outcome of the Global Drug Reference Online service you may discover that the medication you have been prescribed is currently on the WADA prohibited list. This will now require further action, as no action could result in a ban from all sport competition and training should you be tested. Should your medication be on the WADA prohibited list you must fill out a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) form if the medication cannot be stopped or changed for a non-prohibited alternative, and submit this to the relevant country anti-doping organisation, in the case of the United Kingdom this is the United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD). If you have any questions about your medication, then you are able to contact the Science & Medicine team at UKAD via email at substanceenquiry@ukad.org.uk.
Useful Links:
Inadvertent Doping in Sport
While some athletes and coaches purposely dope to gain an advantage over their opponents, there are cases in which accidental doping occurs because athletes and coaches aren’t as careful as they should be when choosing what they put into their bodies. Inadvertent doping most commonly occurs through 1) medication; 2) contaminated dietary supplements; and 3) contaminated food.
Adapted from Boardley, I., Chester, N., FBASES, K. C., Hudson, A., Mills, K., & Stow, M. The BASES Expert Statement on Inadvertent Doping in Sport.
Medications, as discussed previous must be checked that they do not contain banned substances using the Global Drug Reference Online service, should the medication contain banned substances the athlete must either seek a clean alternative medication or complete the required Therapeutic Use Exemption forms and submit the document to the relevant anti-doping agency (e.g. UKAD for the UK, USADA for the USA, RUSADA for Russia). Athletes and coaches often place too much trust in prescriptions or assume that because they are prescription drugs they are safe, this is absolutely not the case and all medications must be checked before use and continued to be checked with each new drug or prescription renewal to ensure ingredients have not changed.
Contaminated supplements, as discussed previously are one of the biggest causes of inadvertent doping in sports. Previous research has reported dietary supplements contaminated with anabolic steroids and stimulants. Herbal supplements are of particular risk to athletes. Contamination usually happens through 2 mechanisms, substandard manufacturing leading to cross-contamination or purposeful contamination to increase the efficacy of a product while avoiding strict regulations and costly certifications such as Informed Sport.
Contaminated foods include animal products in which farmers use sport prohibited growth promoters to increase the size of cattle. While banned in the European Union, the World Anti-Doping Agency has shown non-EU-farmers using banned drugs such as Clenbuterol.
Further risk factors include sabotage and even direct contact with those who have consumed banned substances.
The British Association of Sport and Exercises Scientists (BASES) have published The Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Model of Behaviour (COM-B) to prioritise vigilance around the principal mechanisms of inadvertent doping and reduce the risk.
Useful Links:
The BASES Expert Statement on Inadvertent Doping in Sport
Testing Procedure: UK Anti-Doping
Introduction
Example of the A and B sample bottles.
Athletes can be tested anytime and anywhere and will always be without notice. The process happens in a number of steps to ensure accurate and safe collection of samples from the athletes.
Step 1: Notification of selection for a test
The athlete will be notified that they have been selected for a test, this notification will be undertaken by a Doping Control Officer (DOC). Following this the athlete must provide suitable identification such as a passport and remain in sight of the DOC at all times from the point of notification to the completion of sample collection, this is the athlete’s responsibility and a violation here may likely result in a failed test. The athlete does have the right for a representative to be present.
Step 2: Reporting for sample collection
Athletes then report to the Doping Control Station once they have been notified. In certain circumstances, the athlete can request a delay in reporting to the doping control station.
Step 3: Urine sample provision
When the athlete is ready, they will provide their sample. The athlete should remain in the Doping Control Station until they are ready to do so. The athlete will then be asked to select a sealed sample collection vessel and check that it is empty, clean and the seal is intact, they may select a second vessel if they are in doubt. The DOC will be the same gender as the athlete, and in the case of athletes below the age of 18, there may be an additional person observing the DOC. The athlete must remove enough clothing to give the DOC a clear and unobstructed view of urine leaving the body. The athlete is asked to provide as much urine as possible but at least 90ml. Failure to provide 90ml will result in the athlete having to remain in the Doping Control Station until they can complete the sample. The athlete then divided the sample into the A and B bottles and tightly fastens them. The DOC will then need to check the ‘Specific Gravity’ of the sample to ensure the sample is not too diluted for the laboratory tests, if this is the case then the athlete will need to remain in the Doping Control Station until another sample can be provided.
Step 4: Recording and certifying the information for samples
The bottle numbers are recorded on the doping control forms and are checked by the athlete to ensure there is no mistake. The athlete’s name does not appear anywhere on the documents. Now the athlete is invited to declare any supplements or medications they are currently using or have used in the past 7 days and rate their experience on the doping control form.
Step 5: Transferring the samples to the laboratory
The samples are first placed in a security sealed transit bag and sent to a WADA accredited laboratory for analysis. The laboratory receives the A and B samples plus the anonymous doping control forms containing information only relevant to the analysis.
Step 6: Analysis
At the laboratory, the A sample is opened and analysed while the B sample is frozen and stored for later analysis if required. The laboratory conducts the analysis and then reports the findings back to UKAD or the relevant anti-doping agency.